Get your church involved

Over time we'll be adding more opportunities for churches to support survivors and confront domestic violence within our communities and as a national issue that needs addressing. For now two things your church can do is learn together, and pray together.

Learn together

Start a journey exploring the realities of domestic & family violence here in Australia with your congregation. To help with this, we’ve put together 16 Days of educational resources for you /and your community to use to get yourself educated and prayerful about domestic and family violence. All our resources are available here. Why not set aside 16 days to get more aware of this topic and reflect on how you and your church community could respond.

Another great place to find resources for churches is Restored Relationships, an international Christian alliance working to transform relationships and end violence against women. They have 63 Resources for churches to learn together, such as bible studies, prayers, church packs, self-assessment tools, etc.

Pray together

We'd also encourage you to include domestic & family violence issues within your prayer times as a community. We've put some guiding prayers on this page to help you in your services.

Pray for Domestic Violence around the World

God of the universe, all people are made in your image. You love them and you know each one by name. God, please bring your boundless resources to help women and children around the world who are experiencing violence of any kind. We pray for governments around the world to rule wisely and to make and enforce laws to protect women and children from violence. Please provide support agencies with the resources they need to provide for the rights of victims.

And please change the culture that permits, ignores, downplays or excuses violence against women and children throughout the world. Please give your grace, comfort and healing to all those who suffer.

Amen.

Pray for Domestic Violence in Australia

Loving Father, we thank you that you bring light to the darkness of this world. We pray that you would bring understanding, knowledge, and acceptance of the truth and expose what lurks in the dark and bring it into the light.

We cry out to you. We cry out that these statistics might change. We cry out to you that the women and children who are victims of violence would cease to be so. We pray that violence in all its forms would cease.

We pray that you would give us courage to face this epidemic with all that we have. To make changes to education, implement early intervention, and resource front-line responders. We ask that the Australian government will start to recognise this tragedy for what it is. Most importantly, we ask that your people would be the hands, feet, and voices for change.

Amen.

Pray for Recognition

Psalm 56:1-3, 8 (NRSV)"Be gracious to me, O God, for people trample on me;all day long foes oppress me; my enemies trample on me all day long, for many fight against me.O Most High, when I am afraid, I put my trust in you...You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your record?"

Lord, give us eyes to see and ears to hear the many different ways in which domestic and family violence is carried out against all sorts of people, in all sorts of ways, in our communities. Thank you that you see and you hear everything that happens in this world.

Give us understanding and keep us vigilant to recognise those who need assistance, knowing that violence does not always involve physical scarring and bruising. Give counsellors and pastoral care workers understanding and wisdom as they offer support in these painful circumstances.

Amen.

Pray for the lives taken

God, we grieve for those who have had their lives taken by the violent. We grieve for what was taken from them, and for what the world is losing in their deaths.

We especially pray for their families and friends. God, we know you are near to the broken-hearted, and you save the crushed in spirit. May friends and family of these victims know your nearness and your salvation, and find comfort and hope in you.

God of justice, we ask that you will bring justice to victims and perpetrators, to those who have lost and those who have taken. We trust in your perfect justice.

Amen.

Pray for men who support women

Lord, today we thank you for the men and boys who are already drivers of cultural change needed to prevent domestic and family violence in our communities. We ask that you continue to give these peacemakers wisdom, humility and understanding in their roles as leaders, supporters, counsellors and advocates.

We ask, Lord, that you would continue to raise up more men and boys to take a stand against aggressive and disrespectful attitudes and behaviours. We pray that championing the safety of women and children, and embodying gentle, respectful relationships will become a priority for all men, everywhere.

Amen.

Pray for men who use violence

God, we give you thanks that nothing is impossible with you, and that you open the door for repentance and forgiveness in the costly loving death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

Today, we lift to you, all those who want to change. We pray for men who have learned to use violence to exert power and control over their partners and children, and who are attempting to change themselves and transform their relationships through Men’s Behaviour Change programs. May your Spirit work within them to bring repentance and healing and a deep and genuine change in the way they treat others.

May they yield to your justice, placing themselves in positions where they can encounter sources of support and accountability as a means of practically working out this repentance and change. We pray for the counsellors and programs which seek to help those men - for strength, wisdom and more resourcing for this important work.

Amen.

Pray for the church – repentance

Father, please give us grace and insight to face uncomfortable truths about how the gospel has been misused and our church communities have been complicit in the abuse of women and children. Please help us not to downplay or deny our involvement, but help us to see our own individual and collective responsibilities.

For the times where we have sheltered and supported abusers in place of the abused, we are sorry, and we repent.

For the times where we have spoken, counselled or taught thoughtlessly or insensitively, or wrongly, we are sorry.

For the hurt that we have caused or perpetuated or excused, we are sorry.

We thank you that you are merciful and you take our wrongs so seriously that Jesus died for them. We ask that you would enable true and full repentance within us and our churches that healing and transformation would abound.

Amen.

Pray for the church – the future

Thank you, God, that you are able to do powerful things in and through our churches.

Thank you that you have made us see domestic and family violence more clearly for the sin it is against you and the people you love.

We praise you that you have the power to change each of us – from the inside out. Make us more aware, and enable us to act on our awareness. Give us vision to see hope and more loving ways forward. Please work in each of us so that we can help our churches be places of care, safety, justice and truth for everyone.